Northeast of Pueblo lies some of the least-seen railroad equipment in the United States. The Transportation Technology Center has served as a field test site for railroad technologies since its founding as part of the Federal Railroad Administration in the late 1960s. Faced with a lack of funding and possible shutdown, the FRA entered a partnership with American Association of Railroads to take over the facility after 1982. Then in 1998, that agreement was again modified to have TTCI operate the facility under contract for both parties. The facility consists of a number of large labs as well as a handful of outdoor test tracks, and is used to test all manner of railway technology for clients, including the FRA, EMD and GE, railcar and track material manufacturers, the US railroads themselves, and even railroad shippers. Whether it's above or below the wheels, they stress it, measure it, analyze it, and yes, even crash it to find new ways to make railroad transport safer and more cost effective.

The TTC is normally off limits to the general public and a fairly strict "no photography" zone (made possible by its remote location and large amount of surrounding private and government property), and much of the equipment inside never leaves the grounds. Thus, it's uncommon, to say the least, to see any railroad enthusiast photos of their equipment. On Saturday, 19-Apr-2008, an extremely rare opportunity came up - TTCI and the AA... (Continued)